This invention relates to a wiring circuit member which is used for controlling the operations of various electric equipments (such as a power window switch mechanism) mounted on a vehicle.
For example, various electric equipments, such as a power window drive mechanism for opening and closing window panes, a power seat-adjusting mechanism for adjusting the inclination and so on of a driver""s seat in accordance with the physical build and posture of the driver, and a courtesy lamp mechanism for warning other running cars by its light that a door of the vehicle, stopped or parked at night, is in an open condition, are mounted on a door trim (interior-side covering plate) of a door panel of the vehicle. These electric equipments are connected directly or through an inner panel-side wire harness to a door control unit (ECU: electronic control unit), and are controlled by this control unit.
A wire harness (comprising wires/cable) for transmitting control signals to electric equipments as described above is arranged and installed in a space between a door panel and a door trim. A lot of blind operation is needed to install the wire harness, and much time and labor is required.
Therefore, in order reduce the time and labor, required for a wire harness-installing operation at the time of mounting electric equipments on a vehicle, an FPC (flexible printed circuit member) which serves as a flat circuit member, is thin, lightweight and flexible, and can achieve an excellent efficiency of the wire harness arranging and installing operation, has attracted attention and has been extensively used as disclosed in JP-A-8-230585.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the wire harness (i.e., the related flat circuit member comprising the FPC), disclosed in JP-A-8-230585, as seen from the inside of the passenger room of the vehicle.
In this case, the flat circuit member 3 is installed in a space between a reverse side of a door trim 2 and a door panel 1. One end of the flat circuit member 3 is connected through a plurality of electric connectors 4, 5 and 6 to a switch unit for outputting switch signals for effecting the ON-OFF control of electric equipments such as a power window drive mechanism, a courtesy lamp mechanism and a power seat-arranging mechanism. An electric connector 7, to which operating signals are inputted from the body side, is provided at the other end of the flat circuit member 3.
In the flat circuit member 3, assuming that the power window drive mechanism and the courtesy lamp mechanism are standard equipments, a standard electric circuit for the standard equipments and an optional electric circuit for the optional electric equipment such as the power seat adjusting mechanism are formed integrally to have a single circuit construction.
The mounting positions of the above electric equipments, the switch circuit portion for controlling the operations of these electric equipments and etc., on the vehicle body vary greatly depending on the shape and size of the vehicle body. Therefore, when the kind of vehicle is changed, their mounting positions are varied although the common electric equipments and switch circuit portion are used.
Therefore, lead portions of the flat circuit member 3, connected respectively to the electric connectors 4, 5 and 6, need to be changed in length, and the flat circuit member 3 need to be newly designed and produced for each kind of vehicle.
As mentioned above, the above flat circuit member 3 is the single flat circuit member in which the standard circuit and the optional circuit are formed integrally with each other. Therefore, even with respect to cars of the same kind having the same vehicle body shape and size, this flat circuit member can not meet a switch layout when the optional electric equipment is changed in accordance with a change of the grade of the cars, so that the whole of the flat circuit member, including the standard circuit, must be newly produced.
Namely, with respect to the wiring circuit member comprising the FPC in which the switch circuit portion (control circuit portion) and the lead portions are formed in an integrated manner as described above, various wiring circuit members, having lead portions of different lengths, must be designed and produced in order to meet a change in the vehicle kind, grade and so on, and this invited a problem that the cost increased.
It is therefore an object of this invention to solve the above problems, and more specifically to provide an inexpensive, good wiring circuit member for a vehicle, which has a high general-purpose ability for a change in the kind and grade of vehicle on which this wiring circuit member is to be mounted, and the production cost can be reduced.
The above object of the present invention has been achieved by a vehicle wiring circuit member for controlling the operations of various electric equipments mounted on a vehicle; characterized in that:
a flexible printed circuit member, forming a switch circuit portion for controlling the operations of the electric equipments, and a flat circuit member, forming a lead portion for connection to other circuit, are produced separately from each other, and thereafter are electrically connected together.
In the above construction, the flexible printed circuit member, forming the switch circuit portion, and the flat circuit member, forming the lead portion, are produced separately from each other, and thereafter are electrically connected together to form the vehicle wiring circuit member of a unitary construction.
Therefore, when the length of the lead portion is changed in accordance with a change in the kind and grade of vehicle, it is merely necessary to newly design and produce only the flat circuit member forming the lead portion changed in length, and the common switch circuit portion can be used regardless of a change in the kind and grade of vehicle.
The flexible printed circuit member and the flat circuit member are beforehand fixedly secured to each other by fixing means such for example as piercing terminals or ultrasonic welding.
Therefore, the provision of a connector structure at the connecting portions of the flexible printed circuit member and the flat circuit member is omitted, and the time and labor, required for a connector fitting operation, are saved.
Any of various flat circuit members, such as an FPC, an FFC (flexible flat cable) and a ribbon wire, can be selectively used as the lead portion in accordance with the mounting condition at the installing place and the environment of use, and there can be provided the vehicle wiring circuit member which has the optimum construction, depending on the mounting position at the vehicle.
The above object of the invention has been achieved also by a vehicle wiring circuit member for controlling the operations of various electric equipments mounted on a vehicle; characterized in that:
a first flexible printed circuit member, forming a standard switch circuit portion for controlling the operations of the standard electric equipments, and a first flat circuit member, forming a lead portion for connection to other circuit, are produced separately from each other, and thereafter are electrically connected together; and
a second flexible printed circuit member, forming an optional switch circuit portion for controlling the operations of the optional electric equipments, and a second flat circuit member, forming a lead portion for connection to other circuit, are produced separately from each other, and thereafter are electrically connected together.
In the above construction, the standard circuit unit for controlling the operations of the standard electric equipments and the optional circuit unit for controlling the optional electric equipment are provided as separate units, respectively. Therefore, when the grade of the vehicle is changed, only the optional circuit unit can be easily exchanged, and a newly-designed unit can be post-attached. Therefore, there can be eliminated an uneconomical situation encountered with a standard circuit/optional circuit integration type, in which even the standard circuit, which does not need to be exchanged, is exchanged. Therefore, the operation for mounting the vehicle wiring circuit member on the vehicle can be effected easily, and the efficiency can be enhanced.